Zach Duval has been around football his whole life. His father coached at the University of Nebraska, he played until an injury sidelined him, and now he’s the head strength and conditioning coach for UW football.
“My favorite part of the job is working with these young men—these young athletes—and
developing their character and integrity,” says Zach. “The easiest thing I do is the
strength and conditioning part. The
relationship part is the most rewarding part of [my job]—from relationships with
the players to the coaches to the coaches’ wives to different people you meet from
different walks of life.”
Zach knew from age 6 that he wanted to be a strength and conditioning coach. His mom would take him up to his father’s office at the University of Nebraska, and while the other kids were playing around the offices, he wandered down to the weight room. He never deviated from his desires and structured his schooling so that he could achieve his dream.
Without a doubt, the players are the favorite part of his job—although Zach says that he hasn’t had to work an entire day of his life because he enjoys what he does immensely.
“Over time, my definition of winning has changed,” explains Zach. “Seeing your guys, whose parents have entrusted to you for 5 years, graduate and give them the best gift they could ever give themselves—a college degree—that is very rewarding for me.”
Zach was born and raised in Nebraska. He had the opportunity to work with Boyd Epley, who is considered to be the godfather of strength and conditioning by American Football Monthly magazine. Boyd was named to the U.S. Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame in June 2003, along with several other honors and awards. In October 2014, Boyd returned to Nebraska as the assistant athletic director for strength and conditioning.
Boyd was Zach’s mentor and taught Zach how to lift. He also gave him a weight belt, his book (Path to Athletic Power: Model Conditioning Program for Champ Performance), and some chalk.
Zach began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in the University of Nebraska strength training program from 1995–96. He was elevated to the position of football strength coach at Nebraska from 1997–2002. During his 8 years with the Huskers, Nebraska won the 1995 and 1997 national championships. It was during his time at Nebraska that Zach formed a relationship with Coach Bohl.
In 2002, Zach entered private business, founding the Xplosive Edge performance center. His company developed specialized computer software to be used by strength-training professionals. Zach’s company was involved in both athletic performance and management of a wellness spa. During his time in private business, he co-owned and managed the Performance and Wellness Institute in Greeley, Colorado. He was in private business for 6 years from 2002–07. He returned to Nebraska for the 2008 season.
Zach had been the director of athletic performance at Creighton University in Omaha, where he developed and supervised strength and conditioning programs for Creighton’s 14 NCAA Division I athletic programs. He also had oversight over nutrition for the Bluejays’ athletics teams in 2009.
For four seasons from 2010–13, he served as the director of sports performance and head football strength coach at the University of Buffalo, and then Coach Bohl called and asked him to come to Wyoming. He immediately said yes.
“Coach Bohl has been a big influence on my life,” says Zach. “It took me all of 30 seconds to agree to move my family 21 hours across the country.”
Before taking the job at UW, Zach had only been to Wyoming once before. He was 9 the first time he visited. He and his family went to Devil’s Tower.
Coming to work with the Cowboys has been a rewarding experience. “I feel very proud to live here,” says Zach. “There’s a toughness about this area and an honesty, character, integrity about the people you run into. Football here at the university, there’s a lot of pride in this.”
Zach always claimed that when he retired, he was going to move back to Colorado. But now that he’s been in Wyoming, he’s amended that statement and wants to retire here.
Recently, he was named the Master Strength and Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa)—the highest honor given in the strength and conditioning profession. For more information, please see the article here: http://www.gowyo.com/genrel/050615aaa.html
